How proposed resort could impact you

Local officials and Catawba Indian Nation leaders are moving forward on work to bring a new resort and casino to the southeastern corner of the county. So how might this project impact you and your neighbors?

It could bring thousands of new jobs to improve a double-digit local unemployment rate.

Its tourism would bring revenue from visitors near and far into the county. Those are the biggest potential benefits leaders say a new resort and casino could bring to Cleveland County.

Local officials and Catawba Indian Nation leaders are moving forward on work to bring a new resort and casino to the southeastern corner of the county.

The Catawbas have filed an application with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to secure land in the nation’s service area for the resort complex. It's still unclear exactly how long the application and accompanying process will take.

“It’s certainly from a jobs standpoint the largest project that we’ve ever had or ever recruited,” said David Dear, interim Cleveland County manager who has also long worked with economic development in the county. “The range of diverse jobs in this project is broader than we’ve ever had before with a project.”

So, in addition to jobs, how might this project impact you and your neighbors? Here’s a look at some of the potential impacts.

Will the county give incentives for the project?

“There are no incentives from any level of government for the project,” Dear said. “They will be paying for everything that happens. For a project of that magnitude, when the developers are willing to pay for everything – and we’re talking major improvements to public roads and more – it’s significant."

What types of jobs would the project create?

Dear said jobs will include hospitality, security, management and more, in addition to gaming.

“Hopefully, it will be something for just about every level of education,” he said.

How will tourism be an impact?

“We’re speaking of it as a resort destination bringing people in here for not only the gaming aspect but also the entertainment aspect,” Dear said. “There will be Las Vegas-style acts, a spa in conjunction with the hotel and a lot of other resort amenities.

“The vast majority of visitors will be from outside the county,” he continued. “And that’s the plan because it is a resort destination and will be designed to draw tourism into the region.”

Are the Catawbas connected to Cleveland County?

* “Some of the opposition in Raleigh keeps saying this is an out-of-state Indian tribe,” Dear said. “If you look at the map of the Catawba history, going way back into the 1600s and 1700s, the Catawbas were indigenous to this part of North Carolina, perhaps as much as the Cherokees.”

* “The Catawba Nation ancestral lands run throughout the Carolinas and well into Virginia, although the federal government now recognizes our service area as South Carolina and part of North Carolina,” Chief Bill Harris said in a prepared statement. “We are hopeful that the BIA will move quickly to approve our application.”

Page 2 of 3 - Why support a resort-casino development in Cleveland County?

Leaders weigh in on the benefits of the proposed project:

“For more than a decade, Cleveland County has faced high unemployment and economic challenges, given the loss of our manufacturing infrastructure. While many North Carolinians are witnessing an economic recovery, our region of the state has witnessed what amounts to a prolonged economic depression.”

-- Michael Chrisawn, president of Cleveland County Chamber

“One only has to look to our western skies to see the economic benefit such a partnership will bring our county and our state. Our state and our country are rich with the history of the Catawba Nation, and we are blessed to have Cleveland County included as part of their service area that was defined by the federal government.”

“The biggest benefit is the jobs, the creation of about 4,000 new good-paying jobs. That’s certainly foremost on the minds of the leaders of Cleveland County. The next is the economic spillover of the project in the region. There are a lot of small businesses that will benefit from such a large resort complex.”

-- David Dear, interim Cleveland County manager

"Our economic development team has been working very hard on this project. Four-thousand jobs and other economic benefits are huge. It's difficult to understand that one tribe is allowed to build another casino in a sparsely populated area and a project that is going to help thousands in a more heavily populated region is opposed. In addition, our region has been devastated with losses of jobs in textile, as well as other types of manufacturing and unemployment, along with the pain it carries is still high. However, our team will continue to work hard for the people of our county and region regarding this and other projects."

-- Ronnie Hawkins, Cleveland County commissioners chairman

Casino impacts

What type of impact could a resort and casino have on Cleveland County and surrounding areas?

A 2011 UNC Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School study of Harrah’s Cherokee Casino’s impact on the surrounding area may provide a glimpse into the answer to that question.

These are among the findings in that survey:

* “The casino’s operation has not solved all regional economic and social problems. High school completion rates remain disappointing. The distribution of casino revenues has alleviated family stress and therefore reduced some, but not all, youth behavior problems.”

* “The long-term impacts of the distribution of casino revenues on health behaviors remain to be seen.”

* “Nevertheless, all available evidence points toward a substantial improvement in regional well-being on almost all measurable dimensions and, although the mechanisms are often indirect, these improvements can be traced back to the establishment and expansion of Harrah’s Cherokee casino.”

Page 3 of 3 - * In 2009, the economic impact on Jackson and Swain counties, surrounding Harrah's, was estimated to be approximately $300 million. Capital investments added another estimated $82 million.

* Approximately 3.6 million people visit the casino each year.

* The casino was directly responsible for 5 percent of employment and about 8 percent of all wages and salary disbursements in surrounding Jackson and Swain counties.